Introducing The Bamford Heritage MilSub, A Modern Sub With All The Bits Of The Original Without The Six-Figure Bill

Ask any vintage Rolex lover what watch they'd love to own the most, and there's at least a fifty percent chance they'll reply "MilSub." These similar but different Submariners were made by Rolex in the 1970s explicitly for the British Ministry of Defense, and are very much the same as your standard Submariner with the addition of a few purpose-built touches: fixed spring bars (eliminating the weakest part of a watch), larger sword shape hands (easier to read under water due to more luminous material), and a bezel that is graduated for a full 60 minutes instead of just 15 (giving divers a more precise reading), and finally, a circled T on the dial indicating the use of tritium. Now you can have all of that, without the six-figure bill.

Ask any vintage Rolex lover what watch they'd love to own the most, and there's at least a fifty percent chance they'll reply "MilSub." These similar but different Submariners were made by Rolex in the 1970s explicitly for the British Ministry of Defense, and are very much the same as your standard Submariner with the addition of a few purpose-built touches: fixed spring bars (eliminating the weakest part of a watch), larger sword shape hands (easier to read under water due to more luminous material) and a bezel that is graduated for a full 60 minutes instead of just 15 (giving divers a more precise reading), and finally, a circled T on the dial indicating the use of tritium.

These little traits don't sound like much, but they add up to a lot in terms of emotional value and in fact real value – a good full-spec MilSub reference 5513 sells for north of $140,000 these days, with documents, maybe more, and for a 5517 or dual reference, even more. Needless to say, a MilSub isn't exactly on the shopping lists of many. So, with the help of the Bamford Watch Department, we have the next best thing, built in a more robust way, for a fraction of the price.

The Bamford Heritage MilSub takes all of that, and drops it into a brand new Rolex case, modified by Bamford to include those fixed lugs (on the NATO version), a metal bezel, and all the bits and bobs you'd find on a real MilSub. The fully graduated bezel is metal, just like it was on the original, too.

The entire case is coated in Bamford's proprietary MGTC (military grade titanium coating) for a matte grey finish. These watches will retail at $19,375, and because this is the Bamford Watch Department, you can buy them stock with a circled B here, or even customize which letter you'd like on the dial here.